ToG(r)o

“To-G(R)o” is a 20’ wide x 14’ deep temporal dining environment that “deteriorates” through the natural participation of its occupants within an urban street, only to be reborn when redeployed to a more natural setting. Built entirely of corrugated cardboard and surfaced with young saplings and sustainably-farmed foods, “To-G(R)o’s” formal geometries depict the rolling hills and farms surrounding Omaha, NE while providing various seating and lounging opportunities for its occupants who wish to dine. The cells (results of the grid-like structure of the corrugated cardboard) serve as anchoring points for a series of serving cones, each filled either with food from local growers or with a single young sapling supplied by Arbor Day Farms. As the occupants remove the food for consumption and take away the saplings as mementos of the experience, the “natural” surface of “To-G(R)o” erode from a lush and bountiful environment to a barren beige structure. It is only after “To-G(R)o” is transplanted to the grounds of Arbor Day Farms and its cells are filled with soil and seed that it returns to a point of homeostasis; the cardboard erodes and is replaced by berms of grass, creating a natural picnic area on the farm.